No. 15

The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.

Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.

Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.

“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.

Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.

Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.

Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.

“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.

Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn’t have a first round draft pick.

Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.

At No. 15 is wide receiver Matthew Golden.

Matthew Golden, WR

Last season

Golden, the Packers’ first round draft pick in 2025, finished his rookie season with pedestrian numbers of 29 receptions for 361 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch. Golden also didn’t have a touchdown catch in the regular season.

Golden had a four-game stretch between Weeks 3-6 when he had 16 catches for 233 yards. Those four games accounted for 55.2% of his receptions and 64.5% of his receiving yards. Along the way, Golden had a huge fourth down catch in Dallas to keep alive the Packers’ final drive in what became a 40-40 tie.

Golden missed three games in November with shoulder and wrist injuries, then averaged just 18.8 snaps the next four games.

After a quiet regular season, though, Golden had his best game of the year in the Packers’ biggest contest — a 31-27 Wild Card loss to Chicago. Golden finished that night with four receptions for 84 yards and a breathtaking 23-yard touchdown.

Golden joined Davante Adams as the only Green Bay rookie wideouts to post 80-plus receiving yards and a receiving TD in a playoff game. Golden also showed that his ceiling could be incredibly high.

“I would say it happened exactly how it was supposed to,” Golden said of his rookie season. “I feel like it developed me and mindset to just have a chip on my shoulder, just how to go about things. I wouldn’t change anything that happened last year. I feel like for this year, it’s a part of the plan, man, and I’m excited.”

Career to date

Golden spent two years at Houston, then transferred to Texas in 2024 where he had 58 receptions, nine TDs and averaged 17.0 yards per catch for a Longhorns team that reached the College Football Playoff Final 4.

From the midway point of the 2024 campaign, Golden became the biggest playmaker on the Longhorns’ dynamic offense. Golden then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds at the 2025 NFL Combine, fastest among all the wideouts.

“You can’t coach 4.29, or whatever they had him at,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said in 2025. “Anytime a guy is breaking sub 4.3s, you know he’s legitimately fast. I think what’s so attractive about a guy like Golden is not only is he fast, but he’s got, I’d say elite hands.”

Outlook

If you’re looking for a breakout Packer in 2026, Golden is a good bet.

Green Bay moved on from Romeo Doubs (free agency) and Dontayvion Wicks (trade) this offseason. So after playing just 43.0% of the snaps last year, Golden should see a far greater workload this season.

Golden showed the world what he’s capable of on his 23-yard touchdown against Chicago in the playoffs.

Golden caught a swing pass in the right flat, five yards behind the line of scrimmage.

At the 20-yard line, Golden shook free of cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Then at the 17, he spun away from safety Jaquan Brisker.

Golden hurdled nickel back Kyler Gordon, who had been blocked to the ground, at the 15-yard line. Then when he reached the 5, Golden cut between safety Kevin Byard and defensive end Montez Sweat and leapt into the endzone.

“I wasn’t going to go down, man,” Golden said. “I had the mindset of getting in the end zone regardless of who was in front of me. How it was lined up, I didn’t want to go down. I just had to get in there.”

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich drew criticism for not using Golden enough in 2025. That should change this fall and Golden could be poised for a big year.

They said it …

“I’ve definitely seen him take a few steps forward this offseason in terms of going out there and playing fast, just playing free out there. That’s the best way to play and I’ve definitely seen that from him so far. I’m excited to see where he goes this year.” — Green Bay wideout Christian Watson on Golden

“To be honest, I don’t feel like (people) have seen anything yet. I have a lot of confidence in myself and I know what I have done. To me, it wasn’t anything yet. I know it’s a lot more out there. I’m excited for it. I know I’m going to prove myself right. I know I got guys around me that’s going to uplift me. I feel like we have a great brotherhood here. Everybody in this locker room, we uplift each other and we always have the most confidence in each other. As long as we keep doing that, it’s going to be good.” — Golden on what’s next

“I thought Matthew did an excellent job from the beginning of training camp, throughout the season. Whenever he got his opportunities, he capitalized on them. I thought he did an excellent job. Like all players, when you go through tough times when you’re losing games and maybe you’re not getting as many opportunities as you want, that’s going to be frustrating, but I thought he handled it like a pro and, when his number was called on, he performed. Really excited to see what he can do in Year 2.” — Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst on Golden